


An Honest Conversation

by Josh89



Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, May Prompt Challenge, Mid-Canon, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Season/Series 04, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:07:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24473260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh89/pseuds/Josh89
Summary: After they solve the bombing case at Boylan Plaza, Kate Beckett reflects on some of the things that have happened to her and her partner and decides it's time for the two of them to have an actual, genuine, honest conversation.Prompt- Outside
Relationships: Kate Beckett/Richard Castle
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14
Collections: /r/FanFiction Prompt Challenge #18 / May 2020





	An Honest Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic relies on a couple of minor changes to canon.  
> Firstly: Rick did not hear Kate say that she remembers everything in the interrogation room.  
> Secondly: Instead of just walking away at the end of the episode the way he did, Rick stuck around for a bit longer.

“Hell of a case, huh?”  
Kate’s partner sighed, rolling his shoulders to ease the cramp in them as he stretched, and nodded. “Hell of a case”.  
Kate watched the writer standing by her desk thoughtfully as he shrugged his jacket on. “Hey, I know this is going to sound weird since it’s not exactly a thing that we ever really do, but do you want to go somewhere and talk? Maybe you can tell me what you were going to say before Ryan so rudely interrupted us?” she suggested.  
He seemed surprised by her suggestion, and she supposed that made sense. They didn’t talk about things. Only a year ago, they’d kissed in an alleyway, almost froze to death in each other’s arms, only narrowly managed to defuse a dirty bomb, technically shared a hotel room in LA while trying to track down her former training officer’s killer, and they hadn’t talked about it until their argument the night of Montgomery’s death. Since she’d returned to New York after her shooting, they’d almost been shot to death by CIA-agent-turned-traitor Sophia Turner (she refused to acknowledge the fact that the spy had been HER WRITER’s former muse, and especially refused to acknowledge that the two had slept together), they’d been drugged, cuffed together and attacked by a tiger, they’d battled a serial killer sniper whose attacks had triggered her PTSD, and, most importantly, she’d almost lost both him and Martha in a bank explosion soon after Halloween. She remembered that she’d been so relieved to see the writer alive that she’d almost kissed him, almost blurted out that she loved him right then and there. And they still never talked about any of it. Breaking herself from her thoughts with a slight shrug of her shoulders, she looked up just in time to see the writer smile warmly at her. “Actually, that sounds good. Where were you thinking?”  
Kate thought quickly, her mind immediately going to the place where they’d had their first real conversation the day she returned. “The swings?”  
“I’m right behind you”.  
-Shortly afterwards-  
The detective and her partner sat quietly on the swings, watching the children on the playground cheering and laughing as they chased each other. Kate blinked, and for a couple of seconds she swore she could see a slightly older version of her partner (only two, maybe three, years older) and a young girl who looked like a younger version of herself but with Castle’s eyes laughing and playing together. She blinked again, her vision returning to normal. Rick leaned forward, inquisitive as ever. “What did you want to talk about?”  
“I think it’s time we had an honest conversation. We keep skipping around things and never really talking about them. Remember what you said to me the night Roy died? We kissed, we nearly froze together in each other’s arms, and yet we never talked about any of it? I want to change that, Castle. But first, I think we both need to promise something”.  
The writer looked surprised. “Oh?”  
“We need to promise each other that, no matter what the other person says, we hear them out completely before reacting or interrupting, no matter how what they say makes us feel. Prevents misunderstandings and ensures that we actually listen to each other’s point of view. Deal?”  
Castle nodded. “Deal. Do you want to start?”  
Kate sighed, and then nodded. “I think it’s best if I do. I’ve been hiding something from you for a while, and I think it’s time I finally said it out loud, to someone other than my therapist. I remember everything that happened at the funeral. I have for a while. The bullet, losing consciousness on the grass, feeling my breath leave me… Most importantly, I remember you telling me that you love me. And part of the reason it took me so long to say something is because I couldn’t figure out why you said it. Was it because you meant it? Or was it because (as we both thought) I was about to die, and you didn’t know if you’d get another chance to tell me?”  
“It was both, Kate. Honestly, me following you around stopped being about the books a long time ago. It’s just been an excuse to spend time with you. Yes, I said those three words to you at Roy’s funeral because I didn’t know if I’d ever get another chance to say them. But more importantly, I said them because I meant every word and I needed you to know that. I still mean them, Kate”.  
She couldn’t help but smile at him. “I don’t know if you can ever forgive me for lying to you for so long, Castle, but I feel the same way. I have for a while, in all honesty, it’s just… I don’t really talk about my feelings, Castle. You know that. There’s that wall around my heart, the one I built after my mom died. It’s slowly coming down, but it’s taking time”.  
“Let me help, Kate…” the writer said gently, reaching out to take her hand with his.  
She sighed at the contact, squeezing his hand gently. “You help every day, Castle. I’m a better person because I have you, Martha, and Alexis in my life”.  
Her partner swallowed nervously. “Good. Because I have something that I need to tell you as well… Before Roy died, he sent a package to a friend of his, a package that contained information that would be damaging to the man behind your mother’s murder. The package didn’t arrive until after you were shot, but when it was clear that you were going to survive, Montgomery’s friend struck a deal with them... with the man behind your mother’s murder. If they went after you, the information inside the package would be released, and the mastermind’s reputation would be destroyed. But if they left you alone, then Montgomery’s friend would keep the information private. But there was one condition: That you backed off. As long as you don’t investigate your mother’s murder, or any cases linked to it, then you’re safe”.  
“How do you know this, Castle?” Kate found herself asking, even though she was sure that she already knew. The writer swallowed nervously. “In order for the deal to work, someone had to make sure that you weren’t pursuing it”.  
“Are you a part of this?”  
Castle nodded. “Only when it comes to stopping you from pursuing the case. Montgomery died trying to protect you from these people, they are bad news. I. Love. You. Kate. I love you, and I don’t want to lose you”.  
“That’s not your decision to make, Castle. This is my life, mine. Catching killers is my job. I can’t just walk away from my mother’s case! Not again!”  
“I’m not saying to walk away from her case full stop, Kate. Just put it aside. Wait for the mastermind and his minions to make a mistake. When that day comes, and I assure you that it most definitely will, I promise you and I will take down the people behind the conspiracy and make them pay for everything that they did and all the lives they ruined”.  
Kate glared at him for a few seconds longer before slowly sighing and nodding. “Fine. You’re right, Castle. We’ll set it aside for now. I guess my mom probably wouldn’t be all that pleased with me if I got myself killed trying to avenge her death”.  
“She probably wouldn’t”.  
Despite the fact that she was annoyed with her partner, Kate found herself relaxing again. There was just something about having the writer around that helped her relax (ironically, when they were solving cases it was his crazy theories that helped to keep her on her toes). After a couple of minutes semi-comfortable silence, Rick sighed. “While we’re being honest with each other… do you remember the bank explosion from October last year? When you found us in the vault after the explosion, and you were looking at me as if I were the only one there? All I could think about at the time was that I wanted to kiss you”.  
Kate found herself laughing, her bad mood gone entirely. “In the spirit of being honest, I must confess that I almost did kiss you. In fact, I think if Martha hadn’t interrupted us when she did, I think I would have”.  
“Yeah, well, mother’s always been good at interrupting. And she’s not the only one. Remember when Ryan interrupted us earlier during the case we just solved, just as I was about to tell you something?”  
She nodded. Truthfully, she knew exactly what he’d been going to say, and as of about five minutes earlier in the long-overdue conversation that they were finally having, he knew that she’d known. But she wanted to hear him say it, regardless. “I remember”.  
“I was going to say that I’m tired of waiting. Tired of waiting for the perfect opportunity when the future is never promised. Tired of not having the courage to tell the people I love that I love them. I was going to tell you that I love you, Kate”.  
Kate sighed in happiness. Standing, she gestured for him to join her. As soon as he did, she raised herself to his level and pressed her lips against his quickly before pulling away again, smiling at him. “I love you too”.


End file.
